Page 41 of My Forever Soldier

A nurse smiled their way, standing close to Charlie’s bed, Luke was about to ask her what happened next when the door to the room burst open and a fresh-faced doctor appeared.

“You must be Charlie’s parents.”

Luke made himself smile and shake the doctor’s hand.

“I’m Dr. Lewis,” he said, standing next to Charlie. “I understand you worked on your son before the ambulance arrived?”

Luke nodded.

“Good work. You may well have saved his life.”

Olivia folded Charlie even tighter in her arms, as if just hearing the words made her relive it all over again.

“Where from here, Doc?” Luke asked. He didn’t want to discuss what might have happened if he hadn’t come home when he did, about what it said about him that he’d almost wanted to take a promotion instead of toughing it out at home and being a dad.

The doctor picked up Charlie’s chart before answering. “We’ll need to keep him here overnight, but he should be ready to go home tomorrow, so long as all his test results come back normal.” He studied the chart some more. “We’ll send you home with a nebulizer, and he will most likely need another shot of steroids in the morning.”

Olivia spoke before Luke could respond.

“What are the chances of this happening again?”

The doctor looked at both of them, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

“It’s hard to say, but Charlie certainly has severe asthma. More serious than you or your family doctor probably realized. What triggered this episode? Well, it’s hard to say. What we need to do is figure out a plan to manage his condition.”

Luke knew there was no hard and fast rule. No easy answer. But he did know that he’d been easily as bad as Charlie, if not worse, and he’d managed to deal with his asthma, to live with it. As far as he knew, he’d never have made it as a marine if he’d admitted to his condition, but he’d done what he had to do and he’d made it work. Hadn’t let it hold him back, Although his asthma had started to fade as he grew up.

“He does carry an inhaler, doesn’t he?” the doctor asked.

Luke looked to Olivia. It was the first he knew about Charlie’s asthma, so he couldn’t answer for that.

“No,” she said, touching a hand to her forehead. “I mean, I usually keep one in my handbag, but he’s never been this bad before.Never.”

“From now on, you’ll want to make sure he always has one with him. I’ll consult with a specialist to make sure we have him on the correct dosage.”

Olivia had silent tears falling down her cheeks again, but Luke kept listening, wanting to absorb everything the doctor was telling them. When he finally left and closed the door behind him, Luke moved to the other side of the bed, across from Olivia.

Charlie smiled up at him, but he looked so weak, so small and vulnerable on the big hospital bed. Luke took his hand, so tiny in his own. So pale against his skin.

“You were so brave tonight, Charlie,” he told him.

Charlie’s face filled with a touch of color and his smile grew wider, as if he was lapping up the praise, had already forgotten about why he’d ended up in hospital.

“You’re a fighter, you know that?” Luke told him.

“Like you, Dad?” he wheezed.

Olivia grabbed hold of him when he spoke, as if it was a miracle he was even talking, let alone breathing.

“You would make any soldier proud, bud, you hear me?” Luke said.

Charlie closed his eyes again, but the smile that played over his lips gave Luke the boost he needed. What if he hadn’t come back? What if he’d sulked over what had happened at the party and not gone home again? What if… He cringed, refusing to play that game. Because he’d learned on tour not to think like that. Not ever.

His little boy needed him. And for the first time since he’d come home, Luke finally felt needed. He’d saved his son, and unlike so many of the men he’d tried to rescue over the years, Charlie had survived. No blood. No putrid stench of death, Just his little boy tucked up under a blanket, safe and alive.

Almost losing his son was something he didn’t ever want to experience again, And from the look on Olivia’s face, she was feeling every ounce as drained as he was.

“Ollie, I’ll be back in a moment,” he told his wife, giving her a reassuring smile,

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